U.S. Patents Awarded to Inventors in Texas (Jan. 2)

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Use of Peripheral Component Interconnect Input/Output Virtualization Devices to Create Redundant Configurations
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,346,997) developed by Douglas M. Freimuth, New York, and Steven M. Thurber, Austin, Texas, for the "use of peripheral component interconnect input/output virtualization devices to create redundant configurations."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for creating redundant system configurations is presented. The computer-implemented method creates a set of virtual function path authorization tables, and receives a request from a requester to provide requested data from a virtual function wherein the virtual function is performed by a single root or a multi-root peripheral component interconnect device. Further a receive buffer is created in a selected address range in a set of addresses ranges as well as a virtual function work queue entry for the virtual function containing an address of the receive buffer in the selected address range. Responsive to a determination that the virtual function is authorized, writing the requested data into the receive buffer of the selected address range in the one or more systems, and responsive to writing the requested data, issuing a notice of completion to the requester."
The patent application was filed on Dec. 11, 2008 (12/332,957). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,346,997&OS=8,346,997&RS=8,346,997
Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Techniques for Dynamically Sharing a Fabric to Facilitate Off-chip Communication for Multiple On-chip Units
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,346,988) developed by Jian Li, Austin, Texas, William E. Speight, Austin, Texas, and Lixin Zhang, Austin, Texas, for "techniques for dynamically sharing a fabric to facilitate off-chip communication for multiple on-chip units."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A technique for sharing a fabric to facilitate off-chip communication for on-chip units includes dynamically assigning a first unit that implements a first communication protocol to a first portion of the fabric when private fabrics are indicated for the on-chip units. The technique also includes dynamically assigning a second unit that implements a second communication protocol to a second portion of the fabric when the private fabrics are indicated for the on-chip units. In this case, the first and second units are integrated in a same chip and the first and second protocols are different. The technique further includes dynamically assigning, based on off-chip traffic requirements of the first and second units, the first unit or the second unit to the first and second portions of the fabric when the private fabrics are not indicated for the on-chip units."
The patent application was filed on May 25, 2010 (12/786,716). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,346,988&OS=8,346,988&RS=8,346,988
Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Serialized Access to an I/O Adapter Through Atomic Operation
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,346,975) developed by four co-inventors for a "serialized access to an I/O adapter through atomic operation." The co-inventors are Omar Cardona, Cedar Park, Texas, James B. Cunningham, Austin, Texas, Baltazar De Leon III, Austin, Texas, and Matthew R. Ochs, Austin, Texas.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Disclosed is a computer implemented method, computer program product, and apparatus to enqueue one or more packets in a device driver for an I/O adapter. A device driver receives, by a processor executing the device driver, a reference to a list of transmit packets. The device driver may then atomically fetch and set a transmit active flag, wherein atomically setting comprises determining a former status of the transmit active flag. Responsive to a determination that a former status of the transmit active flag is different than a current status of the transmit active flag, the device driver atomically removes, by a processor executing the device driver, any packets referenced by a host machine transmit queue reference. The device driver pre-pends transmit packets referenced by the host machine transmit queue reference to the list of transmit packets to form an augmented list of transmit packets. The device driver builds a work request based on the augmented list of transmit packets. The device driver notifies the I/O adapter of the work request. The device driver atomically resets the transmit active flag."
The patent application was filed on March 30, 2009 (12/414,528). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,346,975&OS=8,346,975&RS=8,346,975
Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

***
Intel Assigned Patent for Method and Apparatus for Efficient Integer Transform
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Intel, Santa Clara, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,346,838) developed by Eric Debes, Santa Clara, Calif., William W. Macy, Palo Alto, Calif., and Jonathan J. Tyler, Austin, Texas, for a "method and apparatus for efficient integer transform."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method and apparatus for including in a processor instructions for performing integer transforms including multiply-add operations and horizontal-add operations on packed data. In one embodiment, a processor is coupled to a memory that stores a first packed byte data and a second packed byte data. The processor performs operations on said first packed byte data and said second packed byte data to generate a third packed data in response to receiving a multiply-add instruction. A plurality of the 16-bit data elements in this third packed data storing the result of performing multiply-add operations on data elements in the first and second packed byte data. The processor adds together at least a first and a second 16-bit data element of the third packed data in response to receiving an horizontal-add instruction to generate a 16-bit result as one of a plurality of data elements of a fourth packed data."
The patent application was filed on Sept. 15, 2009 (12/560,225). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=83,46,838.PN.&OS=PN/83,46,838&RS=PN/83,46,838
Written by Amal Ahmed; edited by Jaya Anand.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Deriving a Hierarchical Event Based Database Optimized for Pharmaceutical Analysis
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,346,802) developed by Robert R. Friedlander, Southbury, Conn., Richard Hennessy, Austin, Texas, and James R. Kraemer, Santa Fe, N.M., for a "deriving a hierarchical event based database optimized for pharmaceutical analysis."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A computer implemented method for inferring a probability of a first inference absent from a database at which a query regarding the inference is received. Each datum of the database is conformed to the dimensions of the database. Each datum of the plurality of data has associated metadata and an associated key. The associated metadata includes data regarding cohorts associated with the corresponding datum, data regarding hierarchies associated with the corresponding datum, data regarding a corresponding source of the datum, and data regarding probabilities associated with integrity, reliability, and importance of each associated datum. The query is used as a frame of reference for the search. The database returns a probability of the correctness of the first inference based on the query and on the data."
The patent application was filed on March 9, 2011 (13/044,074). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=83,46,802.PN.&OS=PN/83,46,802&RS=PN/83,46,802
Written by Amal Ahmed; edited by Jaya Anand.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A map-based search application for map-based category navigation includes geographic data, category data, and categorized data comprising at least one item, wherein each item is associated with each of the geographic data and the category data. Accordingly, a user is enabled to search for categorized data that satisfies at least one condition related to the geographic data and at least one condition related to the category data. The invention further comprises a display for displaying a list of results from a search, wherein the list comprises the at least one item."
The patent application was filed on June 18, 2004 (10/872,051). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=83,46,751.PN.&OS=PN/83,46,751&RS=PN/83,46,751
Written by Amal Ahmed; edited by Jaya Anand.

***
Hewlett-Packard Development Assigned Patent for Methods and Systems for Using Incremental Operation for Processing Regular Expressions in Intrusion-prevention Systems
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Hewlett-Packard Development, Houston, has been assigned a patent (8,347,384) developed by Jason D. Preston, Austin, Texas, for "methods and systems for using incremental operation for processing regular expressions in intrusion-prevention systems."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Methods and systems are provided for using incremental operation for processing regular expressions in intrusion-prevention systems. In an embodiment, a state-transition table is provided, said table representative of a predetermined data pattern, and including states each having one or more egress events defining transitions to other states. A first portion of a subject is received, where the subject is to be evaluated for the presence of the predetermined data pattern. While using the state-transition table for said evaluation, a first state is transitioned into, after which it is determined that a set of restart information should be saved for the first state, said determination including identifying a tail to save from an end of the first portion of the subject. The restart information is saved, along with at least the identified tail."
The patent application was filed on July 29, 2008 (12/181,400). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,384&OS=8,347,384&RS=8,347,384
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
AT&T Intellectual Property I Assigned Patent for System and Method of Recording Television Content
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- AT&T Intellectual Property I, Atlanta, has been assigned a patent (8,347,334) developed by Scott White, Austin, Texas, and James L. Cansler, Pflugerville, Texas, for a "system and method of recording television content."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method of recording television content is disclosed and includes receiving one or more television program search criteria from a set-top box device at a recurrent searching system. The method also includes storing the one or more search criteria at the recurrent searching system. Further, the method includes performing a first search of electronic program guide (EPG) data accessible to the recurrent searching system based on the television program search criteria and performing at least one additional search of EPG data accessible to the recurrent searching system based on the television program search criteria after the first search."
The patent application was filed on Jan. 31, 2008 (12/023,714). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,334&OS=8,347,334&RS=8,347,334
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Password Policy Enforcement in a Distributed Directory When Policy Information is Distributed
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,347,347) developed by Daw Feng, Austin, Texas, Kristin Marie Hazlewood, Austin, Texas, and Gary Dale Williams, Driftwood, Texas, for a "password policy enforcement in a distributed directory when policy information is distributed."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product for password policy enforcement in a distributed directory when policy information is distributed. When a proxy server is providing a request from a client to a backend directory server, the proxy server performs a series of LDAP operations on a targeted set of backend directory servers to collect password policy information applicable to a target user. The password policy information applicable to the target user is partitioned and distributed across the plurality of backend directory servers. When the password policy information for the target user has been collected, the proxy server evaluates the collected password policy information to determine an effective password policy for the target user. The proxy server then sends the request and subsequent requests with the effective password policy to a backend directory server."
The patent application was filed on Jan. 9, 2008 (11/971,510). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,347&OS=8,347,347&RS=8,347,347
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
Coherent Logix Assigned Patent
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Coherent Logix, Austin, Texas, has been assigned a patent (8,347,339) developed by Kevin A. Shelby, Austin, Texas, Peter J. Nysen, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Michael B. Doerr, Dripping Springs, Texas, for "transmission of multimedia streams to mobile devices with variable training information."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A system and method for wirelessly transmitting audiovisual information. Training information may be stored in a memory. A plurality of packets may be generated, including the training information. The plurality of packets may also include audiovisual information. The plurality of packets may include first information identifying a first training pattern of a plurality of possible training patterns. The first training pattern may specify one or more locations of the training information in the plurality of packets. The first information may be usable by a receiver to determine the first training pattern of the plurality of possible training patterns. The plurality of packets may be transmitted in a wireless manner."
The patent application was filed on May 30, 2009 (12/475,511). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,339&OS=8,347,339&RS=8,347,339
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Protect Sensitive Content for Human-only Consumption
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,347,396) developed by four co-inventors for a "protect sensitive content for human-only consumption." The co-inventors are Travis M. Grigsby, Austin, Texas, Margaret Beth Morgan, Austin, Texas, Lisa Anne Seacat, San Francisco, and David Warren Zysk, Austin, Texas.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program product for protecting sensitive content. In response to receiving a selection of content, the process determines whether the content is of a sensitive content type based on a policy. The process then designates the content as the sensitive content in response to the content being of a sensitive content type. Thereafter, the process generates a sensitive content reference for publication and stores the sensitive content in a data structure, wherein the data structure associates the sensitive content with the sensitive content reference. Subsequently, in response to receiving a request from a requester for the sensitive content reference, the process obfuscates the sensitive content using a selected obfuscation algorithm to form obfuscated content, and returns the obfuscated content to the requester."
The patent application was filed on Nov. 30, 2007 (11/948,563). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,396&OS=8,347,396&RS=8,347,396
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
StoneEagle Services Assigned Patent
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- StoneEagle Services, Richardson, Texas, has been assigned a patent (RE43,904) developed by Robert Allen, Richardson, Texas, for "medical benefits payment system."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method of facilitating payment of health care benefits to on behalf of a payer comprising the step of electronically transmitting a stored-value card account payment of the authorized benefit amount concurrently with an explanation of benefits."
The patent application was filed on Jan. 26, 2012 (13/358,620). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=RE43,904&OS=RE43,904&RS=RE43,904
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Malicious Software Prevention Using Shared Information
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,347,382) developed by Lisa S. DeLuca, San Francisco, Kulvir S. Bhogal, Pflugerville, Texas, and Robert R. Peterson, Austin, Texas, for a "malicious software prevention using shared information."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method and apparatus for managing executable files. Responsive to detecting a request to run an executable file on a computer, a processor unit determines whether the executable file was downloaded to the computer within a period of time associated with a recent download. Responsive to a determination that the executable file was downloaded to the computer within the period of time, the processor unit determines whether feedback for the executable file from a number of users of the executable file is present in a repository. The feedback identified for the executable file in the repository is presented using a presentation system. User input as to whether the executable file should be run is prompted for by the processor unit after presenting the feedback."
The patent application was filed on Dec. 17, 2009 (12/640,727). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,382&OS=8,347,382&RS=8,347,382
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
Affiliated Computer Services Assigned Patent
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Affiliated Computer Services, Dallas, has been assigned a patent (8,346,739) developed by Kash Hatton, Dallas, and Lance P. King, Orem, Utah, for "segmenting documents among multiple data repositories."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Techniques for storing electronic documents include defining multiple logical storage locations, with each logical storage location corresponding to a respective first set of data parameters, and storing electronic documents in the logical storage locations. Each electronic document is stored in a logical storage location having a particular corresponding first set of data parameters. The particular corresponding first set of data parameters is associated with the electronic document, and the electronic document is indexed within the logical storage location based on a second set of data parameters."
The patent application was filed on Aug. 27, 2004 (10/928,632). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=83,46,739.PN.&OS=PN/83,46,739&RS=PN/83,46,739
Written by Amal Ahmed; edited by Jaya Anand.

***
Xylon Assigned Patent
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Xylon, Las Vegas, has been assigned a patent (RE43,889) developed by Lewis T. Claiborne, Richardson, Texas, and Pradip Mitra, Colleyville, Texas, for a "diffraction grating coupled infrared photodetector."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A diffraction grating coupled infrared photodetector for providing high performance detection of infrared radiation is described. The photodetector includes a three-dimensional diffractive resonant optical cavity formed by a diffraction grating that resonates over a range of infrared radiation wavelengths. By placing a limited number of p/n junctions throughout the photodetector, the photodetector thermal noise is reduced due to the reduction in junction area. By retaining signal response and reducing the noise, the sensitivity increases at a given operating temperature when compared to traditional photovoltaic and photoconductive infrared photodetectors up to the background limit. The photodetector device design can be used with a number of semiconductor material systems, can form one- and two-dimensional focal plane arrays, and can readily be tuned for operation in the long wavelength infrared and the very long wavelength infrared where sensitivity and noise improvements are most significant."
The patent application was filed on Dec. 6, 2006 (11/635,819). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=RE43,889&OS=RE43,889&RS=RE43,889
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
Siemens Industry Assigned Patent
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Siemens Industry, Alpharetta, Ga., has been assigned a patent (RE43,887) developed by John L. Langsdorf, Bedford, Texas, and Gojko Valencic, Colleyville, Texas, for a "conveyor carousel with distributed drive system."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A carousel according to the invention uses a number of smaller, less expensive drive units at different locations along the carousel path in place of a single larger drive unit of comparable capacity. Closed loop control according to the invention allows individual drives to be de-energized when the power requirements do not demand their usage. When not energized, the drives may be disengaged from the chain, such as by way of a linear actuator as described hereafter. Benefits of such a system include reduced mechanical costs, longer drive life, better redundancy/higher availability, correct drive power, lower energy use, closed loop system monitoring and reduced collateral damage."
The patent application was filed on Nov. 23, 2011 (13/303,458). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=RE43,887&OS=RE43,887&RS=RE43,887
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
Vizio Assigned Patent
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Vizio, Irvine, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,347,325) developed by William Pat Price, Rhome, Texas, Peter Jay Schwartz, Fullerton, Calif., and Marcus P. Apitz, Yorba Linda, Calif., for a "system, method and apparatus for viewer detection and action."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An application for a television has a detector capable of determining the identity and/or presence of at least one viewer in a viewing area of the television. In response to viewers entering and leaving the viewing area of the television, the television adjusts its operation based upon settings for the currently present viewers (e.g., enables channels, content, etc)."
The patent application was filed on Dec. 22, 2009 (12/645,371). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,325&OS=8,347,325&RS=8,347,325
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
Oracle America Assigned Patent for Dynamic Mitigation of Thread Hogs on a Threaded Processor
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Oracle America, Redwood City, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,347,309) developed by Jared C. Smolens, San Jose, Calif., Robert T. Golla, Round Rock, Texas, and Matthew B. Smittle, Allen, Texas, for "dynamic mitigation of thread hogs on a threaded processor."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Systems and methods for efficient thread arbitration in a processor. A processor comprises a multi-threaded resource. The resource may include an array of entries which may be allocated by threads. A thread arbitration table corresponding to a given thread stores a high and a low threshold value in each table entry. A thread history shift register (HSR) indexes the table, wherein each bit of the HSR indicates whether the given thread is a thread hog. When the given thread has more allocated entries in the array than the high threshold of the table entry, the given thread is stalled from further allocating array entries. Similarly, when the given thread has fewer allocated entries in the array than the low threshold of the selected table entry, the given thread is permitted to allocate entries. In this manner, threads that hog dynamic resources can be mitigated such that more resources are available to other threads that are not thread hogs. This can result in a significant increase in overall processor performance."
The patent application was filed on July 29, 2009 (12/511,620). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,309&OS=8,347,309&RS=8,347,309
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method and apparatus for modifying a synchronous logic network so that the hold slack calculated at all pins is greater than or equal to a user-specified threshold, with the condition that the setup slack at any pin does not become negative or smaller than a user-specified margin. The result is an improved design which is less likely to fail due to a hold time violation. The method and apparatus introduce a limited number of logic cells which helps keep power consumption and design size to a minimum."
The patent application was filed on Dec. 22, 2010 (12/975,668). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,250&OS=8,347,250&RS=8,347,250
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Formation of Special Interest Groups
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,346,866) developed by Simon Gilbert Canning, Upper Coomera, Australia, Craig Robert William Forster, Austin, Texas, and Neil Ian Readshaw, Parkwood, Australia, for a "formation of special interest groups."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Special interest subgroups are formed by a group of participants by establishing a profile for each participant. The profile defines contribution attributes dealing with contributions the profiled participant might make to a subgroup and attribution attributes dealing with benefits the profile participant might receive from participating in the subgroup. For each possible pairing of participants in the group, an overall contribution score and an overall benefit score is calculated for each participant. A mutual benefit score is calculated by combining the benefit scores for both participants in the pair. Participants are assigned to subgroups as a function of participant contribution and mutual benefit scores."
The patent application was filed on May 5, 2010 (12/774,120). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,346,866&OS=8,346,866&RS=8,346,866
Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

***
Dell Products Assigned Patent for System and Method of Emulating a Network Controller within an Information Handling System
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Dell Products, Round Rock, Texas, has been assigned a patent (8,346,912) developed by Santosh Bhadri, Karnataka, India, Timothy M. Lambert, Austin, Texas, and Alaa Yousif, Round Rock, Texas, for a "system and method of emulating a network controller within an information handling system."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A system and method of emulating a network controller within an information handling system is disclosed. In one form, an information handling system can include a host chipset operably coupled to a network interface controller of a first main circuit board, and a management controller operably coupled to the host chipset. The information handling system can also include an emulated network interface controller operable to be activated by the management controller. The information handling system can further include a communication bus coupled to the host chipset and the management controller. In one form, the communication bus is operable to activate a communication link between the host chipset and the emulated network interface controller."
The patent application was filed on Oct. 15, 2007 (11/872,400). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,346,912&OS=8,346,912&RS=8,346,912
Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product for reworking a plurality of cells initially placed in a circuit design. An expander allocates cells to tiles, wherein some tiles have cells. The expander determines a high detailed routing cost tile class, wherein the high detailed routing cost tile class is a class of tiles that are high detailed routing cost tiles. The expander selects a cell within a tile of the high detailed routing cost tile class to form a selected cell and a selected tile. The expander places an expanded bounding box around the selected cell, wherein the bounding box extends to at least one tile adjacent the selected tile. The expander expands the selected cell within the bounding box to form a modified design, determines an aggregate routing cost among other steps, and affirms the modified design for further processing."
The patent application was filed on June 8, 2010 (12/796,501). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,257&OS=8,347,257&RS=8,347,257
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Performing Device Configuration Rediscovery
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,346,902) developed by Priti Bavaria, Austin, Texas, Stephan Otis Broyles, Austin, Texas, and Glenn Eric Rinkenberger, Austin, Texas, for "performing device configuration rediscovery."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method, apparatus and computer instructions in a data processing system for identifying device configurations. Unique identification information is identified for a set of devices in the data processing system. The identified unique identification information is compared with previously identified unique identification information. Configuration data is moved to a memory for devices in the set of devices in which a match exists between the identified unique identification information and the previously identified unique identification information for devices. Configuration information is obtained from a device in which configuration information is absent in the memory after configuration data has been moved to the memory for the devices to form a current set of configuration data for the set of devices."
The patent application was filed on July 31, 2003 (10/631,056). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,346,902&OS=8,346,902&RS=8,346,902
Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Disclosed is an improved mechanism and method for implementing electronic designs. According to some approaches, a method, mechanism, and compute program product is disclosed for implementing electronic designs that allows visual editing of complex objects with advanced editing features, which also provides for automated correspondence of the editing results to parametric values for a programmable object in the design."
The patent application was filed on Sept. 9, 2010 (12/878,893). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,261&OS=8,347,261&RS=8,347,261
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
Nextio Assigned Patent
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Nextio, Austin, Texas, has been assigned a patent (8,346,884) developed by Christopher J. Pettey, Cedar Park, Texas, for a "method and apparatus for a shared I/O network interface controller."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A shared network interface controller (NIC) interfaces a plurality of operating system domains as part of the load-store architecture of the operating system domains. A bus interface couples the NIC to a load-store domain bus (such as PCI-Express), using header information to associate data on the bus with an originating operating system domain. Transmit/receive logic connects the NIC to the network. Association logic allows the NIC to designate, and later lookup, which destination MAC address (on the Ethernet side) is associated with which operating system domain. Descriptor register files and Control Status Registers (CSR's) specific to an operating system domain are duplicated and made available for each domain. Several direct memory access (DMA) engines are provided to improve throughput. Packet replication logic, filters (perfect and hash) and VLAN tables are used for looping back packets originating from one operating system domains to another and other operations."
The patent application was filed on July 30, 2004 (10/909,254). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,346,884&OS=8,346,884&RS=8,346,884
Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

***
Oracle International Assigned Patent for Automated Administration Using Composites of Atomic Operations
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Oracle International, Redwood Shores, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,347,294) developed by Guido Patanella, Austin, Texas, for "automated administration using composites of atomic operations."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Various techniques for automatically administering software systems using composites of atomic operations are disclosed. One method, which can be performed by an automation server, involves accessing information representing an activity that includes a first operation and a second operation. The information indicates that the second operation processes a value that is generated by the first operation. The method generates a sequence number as well as an output structure, which associates the sequence number with an output value generated by the first operation, and an input structure, which associates the sequence number with an input value consumed by the second operation. The method sends a message, via a network, to an automation agent implemented on a computing device. The computing device implements a software target of the first operation. The message includes information identifying the first operation as well as the output structure."
The patent application was filed on Oct. 14, 2009 (12/578,706). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,294&OS=8,347,294&RS=8,347,294
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Method and System for Cost Avoidance in Virtualized Computing Environments
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,347,307) developed by four co-inventors for a "method and system for cost avoidance in virtualized computing environments." The co-inventors are Christopher J. Dawson, Arlington, Va., Carl P. Gusler, Austin, Texas, Rick A. Hamilton II, Charlottesville, Va., and James W. Seaman, Falls Church, Va.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method includes monitoring a utilization amount of resources within logical partitions (LPARs) of a plurality of servers and identifying a resource-strained server of the plurality of servers, wherein the resource-strained server includes a plurality of LPARs. Additionally, the method includes determining a migration of one or more LPARs of the plurality of LPARs of the resource-strained server and migrating the one or more LPARs of the resource-strained server to another server of the plurality of servers based on the determining to avoid an activation of capacity upgrade on demand (CUoD)."
The patent application was filed on March 12, 2008 (12/046,759). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,307&OS=8,347,307&RS=8,347,307
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Techniques are disclosed for indicating a hyperlink in a message as being inappropriate for a specified user environment, such as an office or an educational setting. In one embodiment, a message may be received from a sending user and to a receiving user (e.g., by a sending mail client or by a mail server). The message may include a hyperlink. If a message includes a hyperlink determined to be inappropriate for the specified user environment, a property of the message may be set to indicate as such. Optionally, the sending user may be notified that the hyperlink is indicated as being inappropriate for the specified user environment. The receiving user may also be warned not to activate the hyperlink that is determined to be inappropriate."
The patent application was filed on Nov. 6, 2009 (12/614,078). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,346,878&OS=8,346,878&RS=8,346,878
Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Disclosed is a computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product to optimize, incrementally, a circuit design. An Electronic Design Automation (EDA) system receives a plurality of nets wherein each net is comprised of at least one pin. Each pin is linked to a net to form a path of at least a first pin and a second pin, wherein the first pin is a member of a first net. The second pin can be a member of a second net, and the path is associated with a slack. The EDA system determines whether the path is a critical path based on the slack. The EDA system reduces at least one wire length of the path, responsive to a determination that the path is a critical path. The EDA system moves a non-critical component in order to reduce at least one wire length of the nets that include pins of a non-critical component, responsive to reducing at least one wire length of the path, wherein the non-critical component lacks pins on a critical path. The EDA system legalizes the components on a net having a pin selected from the first pin and the second pin. The EDA system determines whether a component is a non-critical component. The EDA system, responsive to a determination that component is a non-critical component, legalizes the non-critical component. The EDA system incrementally optimizes a time delay of the plurality of paths, responsive to legalizing."
The patent application was filed on April 1, 2009 (12/416,754). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,249&OS=8,347,249&RS=8,347,249
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Equation Based Retargeting of Design Layouts
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,347,255) developed by Kanak Behari Agarwal, Austin, Texas, for "equation based retargeting of design layouts."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method, system, and computer usable program product for equation based retargeting of design layouts are provided in the illustrative embodiments. A set of desirable combination of values of a set of layout parameters of the design layout is determined. A desirable region that includes the set of the desirable combination of values is determined. An equation is computed to determine a retargeting value for a first combination of values of the set of layout parameters with respect to the desirable region. Instructions are generated to adjust a value in the first combination to generate a second combination of values of the set of layout parameters such that the second combination falls in the desirable region. A shape in the design layout is retargeted such that the retargeted shape uses the second combination of values of the set of layout parameters. The IC is manufactured using the retargeted shape."
The patent application was filed on May 18, 2010 (12/782,407). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,255&OS=8,347,255&RS=8,347,255
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

***
Microsoft Assigned Patent for Method and System for Service Denial and Termination on a Wireless Network
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- Microsoft, Redmond, Wash., has been assigned a patent (8,346,927) developed by Jayshree Bharatia, Plano, Texas, and Marvin Bienn, Dallas, for a "method and system for service denial and termination on a wireless network."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method and system are provided for denying an application service request, such as a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) request, on wireless and wireline Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) networks or Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) networks. In one example, the method includes receiving a request for an application service from a user via a transport network, determining to deny the request, and providing a response corresponding to the denial of the request to the user via the transport network."
The patent application was filed on March 30, 2012 (13/435,320). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,346,927&OS=8,346,927&RS=8,346,927
Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Contact Initialization Based upon Automatic Profile Sharing Between Computing Devices
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,346,863) developed by Tsz Simon Cheng, Grand Prairie, Texas, Daniel Hassell, Flower Mound, Texas, and Mathews Thomas, Flower Mound, Texas, for a "contact initialization based upon automatic profile sharing between computing devices."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method of initiating contact based upon automatically shared profile data can include a step of automatically and wirelessly exchanging profile information between at least two computing devices. A determination can be made as to whether a contact opportunity exists by comparing received profile information with a set of previously established contact rules. A notification of a contract opportunity can be automatically presented upon one of the computing devices, depending upon whether the profile information favorably compares with the contact rules."
The patent application was filed on Aug. 15, 2006 (11/464,728). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,346,863&OS=8,346,863&RS=8,346,863
Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

***
International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Split-layer Design for Double Patterning Lithography
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 2 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,347,240) developed by Kanak B. Agarwal, Austin, Texas, Lars W. Liebmann, Poughquag, N.Y., and Sani R. Nassif, Austin, Texas, for a "split-layer design for double patterning lithography."
The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A mechanism is provided for converting a set of single-layer design rules into a set of split-layer design rules for double patterning lithography (DPL). The set of single-layer design rules and minimum lithographic resolution pitch constraints for single exposure are identified. The set of single-layer design rules comprise a first plurality of minimum distances that are required by a set of first shapes in a single-layer design. Each of the first plurality of minimum distances in the set of single-layer design rules are modified with regard to the minimum lithographic resolution pitch constraints for single exposure, thereby forming the set of split-layer design rules. The set of split-layer design rules comprise a second plurality of minimum distances that are required by a set of second shapes and a set of third shapes in a split-layer design. The set of split-layer design rules are then coded into a design rule checker."
The patent application was filed on Oct. 29, 2010 (12/915,923). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,347,240&OS=8,347,240&RS=8,347,240
Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.